


Gestures.

by Gallifrey_Immigrant



Category: Legion (TV)
Genre: Gen, Mutant Powers, Mutants, Reality Warping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-02-25
Packaged: 2018-09-26 20:26:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9920954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gallifrey_Immigrant/pseuds/Gallifrey_Immigrant
Summary: Syd and David are perfect for each other. Made for each other, almost.





	

Sydney wrapped herself tighter in her coat, avoiding the people. She walked through the streets, her skin crackling with static as she felt to reach out and use her power. She could steal anyone's life, and she has at certain times.

She's been a father of two. (She was kissed by a man she didn't know was married, but found out when she came home to his wife in his body and read a bedtime story to his kids.) When she took her body back, she was in jail for stealing. That man went insane, because being in another person's body does hell to your psychology if you're not careful. She knows she took away those kids' daddy, and it eats at her.

Syd keeps herself covered. One day, her friend Joey kissed her on the cheek while she was asleep. Joey was shocked to find herself in Syd's body, and at first was cool. But Joey just didn't know how to be a friend to a freak. Syd wouldn't hear from Joey for years afterwards, until she noticed her as part of the anti-mutant protests.

Syd has blonde hair, except when she has brown hair, or black hair, or red hair, or any other hair. She steals other people's bodies like a bandit, and runs off with their bodies. She never means to, but it happens.

She felt David looking at her. His blue eyes peer unto hers. It's already hard enough not to touch--it's even harder when it's your boyfriend. You're supposed to want to touch your boyfriend. And she does. She fantasizes about it every night. But she just can't.

But when he looks at her just so, she forgets all about that. For that moment, her perception of reality changes, and all those worries slip away.

2.

Most mutants have gestures associated with their powers. At least that's what Melanie has noticed.

Ptomonony, when he uses his mutant power to enter memories, likes to close his eyes and wring out his hands. It's his ritual to clear his mind, so he can see into other minds better. He does it almost by reflex, often subtly. When he opens his eyes again, he has a sense of purpose, a sense of extreme calm. That calm lets him go into memories of horror. Melanie's been in memories of murder, seen people get drowned and electrocuted, seen people get tortured once. But as long as Ptomonony does his ritual, he's calm.

Hand gestures are pretty common. Placing your hand on your head is common for telepathy. Waving around your arms is what pytokinetics use. And then there's the mutant dancer who did a whole dance in order to teleport. She was one of Melanie's favorite mutants, and Melanie would often wonder whether or not she escaped the Division.

But David Haller has no gestures.

David's powers activate erratically. That's not a problem, on the face of it. But it's the symptom to a much bigger issue concerning David's treatment. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to how he activates his powers. He has no conscious control over them. And his power is utterly massive. By his age of post-puberty, he should have at least a slightly conscious control of his powers, with the usual physical hand gestures to go with it. But he has nothing.

He's a toddler with a nuclear ticking time bomb, in terms of control. And it doesn't make sense. He should have ripped himself apart by now.

Yet, he appears unaware of the true extent of his powers. Melanie watches him relax near the water side, and wonders just how much his power affects him. He was extremely lucky to have met them, and she was lucky that she found someone as powerful as him.

Almost too lucky.

She once met a reality warper. He didn't last long. She found him when his girlfriend claimed that he wasn't his boyfriend, and her real boyfriend was deleted from history. He was a spoiled man, whose mutant abilities gave him extremely good social luck, even changing history retroactively to suit him. Melanie tried to teach that mutant how to use his gift responsibly, but he refused. Eventually, he left.

Now, that mutant could only warp history for a few days, before life set things back. But, Melanie once wondered whether a reality warper even more powerful existed. I'd that warper were to change history to suit him, would Melanie even notice?

David suddenly turned, and looked back at her. Then he waved.

Melanie waved back. In the back of her mind, she wondered whether even the reality warper would know what he had done.

Her thought process was broken by the appearance of Syd, David's girlfriend. Syd wore her trademark black gloves, and her black shirt and jeans. The pink highlights in her hair contrasted with the drabness of the rest of her clothing.

Melanie had been around Syd long enough to recognize the worry in Syd's green eyes. She said "What's wrong, Syd?"

"How is he?" said Syd. Her hands were pressed to her side, in the gesture Syd had adapted to avoid touching people, which set off her body-switching ability. Drawing back like that, in Melanie's mind, was a physical outgrowth of Syd's power, as much as hand movements were for telekinetics.

"He's progressing very well. I may have to start being more aggressive in some of our therapy, but nothing too severe," said Melanie.

Syd stared at Melanie, glaring her down.

"Don't try to sugarcoat it with me. If he's in trouble, let me know," said Syd.

Melanie sighed, more out of general stress than anything. She shook her head, and said "David has had a lot of trauma. And he has tons of power. He'll need time. But I think we can pull it off. This is the ideal facility for him. It's almost perfect for him"

(A chill ran down Melanie's spine.)

Syd continued looking at Melanie, trying to figure out whether Melanie was lying or not. Eventually, she nodded, and said "Okay. I love him, so don't screw this up."

Melanie nodded, placing a supportive hand on Syd's clothed shoulder. Syd flinched, but slowly relaxed.

3.

Any memory before she melded with David's mind is fuzzy for Syd. Melanie says that it's a side effect of being in a psychics' mind. Swapping brains can really twist your head up. Syd still has nightmares about murdering all those people, but it's almost cloudy, like she wasn't in control.

Syd doesn't really mind though. Davis is the ideal boyfriend. He doesn't mind that they can't touch. He has so many problems, but all that does is make her love him more. Love how he perseveres, how he never gives up.

Syd's been countless people. She has lost so many friends. David's crap would scare most people, but it doesn't scare her. She's seen too much

And, in the back of her mind, she wonders whether one of those powers he has might let them touch one day. Who knows how powerful he really is? 

Melanie once called her the perfect girlfriend for David. Melanie said it as a joking compliment, but her eyes had a dark look. There was a undercurrent to that statement.

Syd joked back that David was the perfect boyfriend, made just for her. Melanie looked even more scared.

4.

Almost every mutant has some sort of magical gesture, some physical movement to help show how use their abilities. While Melanie watched David and Syd talk, it occurred to the woman that a reality warper's gesture would be to live. Reality would move around him or her, perhaps without them knowing, to their benefit.

Then David and Syd caught her eye. And she completely forgot what she was thinking about.


End file.
